— Walter, don't you have a dog?

— I don’t have any, but I do have some cats. I adopted them last week. They were strays. Any advice?

— No, as long as your cats bark.

— Do you have a dog yourself?

— Yes, a couple. Haven’t you seen any in my yard?

— No, but I saw you have some birds. Are any of them parrots?

— Some are and some are not. I mean, all twenty except the ostriches. Do you want some?

— Who, me? No, thanks. I don’t have a cage.

— Don’t be silly, you don’t need any cages, just some room so they can lay eggs. Parrots love them.

— I have my doubts about that.

— About what?

— About parrots loving ostriches.

— Did I say that? Anyway, what names did you give your cats? Want some ideas?

— Not really. Is there any way we can change the topic?

— Sure, we could talk about any subject you want. How about fishing?

— I don’t fish anymore. Some shark ripped my fishing rod away.

— Really? Sharks are amazing. I have some too.

— Yeah, right— in your mind. If you lied any better, you wouldn’t have that honker.

— Mmm… someone's not in the mood to talk this morning…or any morning, if you ask me.